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Video compression mode: [MKV,1080p][H.264,AC3]
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Total Run Time mn. 74:49
Back to the roots; Jamaican pianist Monty Alexander performs with the Harlem Kingston Express, active since 2009. It comes as no surprise that the repertoire flows between calypso, mento, intricate reggae and colourful jazz with Caribbean accents, in a languorous approach that belies the speed and accuracy inherent in their virtuosity. Born in Kingston in 1944, it was the USA, where his parents emigrated to in 1961, that he assimilated the playing style of pianists such as Wynton Kelly, George Shearing, Nat King Cole and Horace Silver. Since his beginnings, he has carried the image of a dandy with a superlative technique, delivering music as light and iridescent as soap bubbles. And so, he quickly seduced the double bassist Ray Brown and the vibraphonist Milt Jackson, and it is not without reason, especially since he was also sponsored by Oscar Peterson on the German label MPS in 1971. The repertoire is full and uncluttered, spanning styles without omitting nods to the great American songbook along with playful introductions to Basie. He opens and closes the concert with themes by Bob Marley ("Running Away," the unavoidable "No Woman No Cry," a quote from "I Shot The Sheriff"), and revisits a beautiful composition by King Tubby and Augustus Pablo, artists who did not hesitate, like him here, to use melodica (King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown). He also underlines the compositions of Ahmad Jamal ("Night Mist Blues") and Monk ("Well, You Needn’t") with Caribbean colours. "Hurricane Come and Gone" gets a magnificent interpretation, one whose wild shimmers remind us of Debussy and the painter Turner. A concert without vulgarity or complacency, with a glass of rum in one hand that lulls bodies into the gorgeous swing of the music.
